WFCO Inverter dying

[afk314]

While camping last weekend, I noticed that my inverter was dying at odd moments. Sometimes it would stay on for 30 minutes and other times it would die every few. So, today I had some time to diagnose.

Here's how I can get the inverter to die (every time):

1. Turn on the inverter
2. Turn on the furnace
3. Furnace fan starts and inverter is still on
4. Inverter dies a few seconds afterwards, timed incredibly close to propane ignition
5. The inverter goes completely black and is OFF. It doesn't light up any fault lights, etc - just off.

I know, sounds insane. I'm not convinced this is a causal relationship, but I can get the WFCO 600w inverter to fail every time with this sequence. Of course the likely culprit is batteries but in this case I am quite confident it isn't the case. My lithium batteries have plenty of capacity and all day today have been at the 13.3 level or higher.

A head scratcher for sure.

Adam

[afk314]

Just wanted to follow up on this issue since it was quite perplexing. As stated above, my inverter would shut down when the furnace came on. Without the furnace on, I could stress test the inverter and pull plenty of current from it without a problem. Likewise, the batteries were fine.

For some reason, I decided to flip the switch on the inverter to disable the remote switch. Once I did this, I found that the inverter performed flawlessly even when the furnace would come on! A lead! Examining the remote switch, I noticed that the wire leading to the switch looked like 18AWG or so and had become worn from stress/rubbing. Rather than trying to repair this wire & switch, I simply abandoned this switch and added a more conveniently located master switch (an inline Blue Sea switch to stop all power from the inverter)

So what was going on? I don't know for certain, but I believe that I had some crosstalk between the wires. Thats probably not the best term for it, but essentially that the initial load from the propane ignition had an effect on the current in the remote switch wire. This electrical disturbance caused the inverter to think that the remote switch had been depressed and thus shut off the inverter. This is why I was getting no feedback lights on the inverter to help me diagnose the issue.

So, if you inverter is dying when the furnace comes on - check and see if your remote start switch is the origin of the problem. Disable the swtich on your inverter if possible and retest. If everything works, its the switch, not the inverter!

Adam

[Adventure.AS]

Originally Posted by afk314

While camping last weekend, I noticed that my inverter was dying at odd moments. Sometimes it would stay on for 30 minutes and other times it would die every few. ...

What size is your battery bank to be able to run devices from the inverter for long periods of time and also run the furnace, which a large draw on the batteries. How old are the batteries?

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Adventure.AS

What size is your battery bank to be able to run devices from the inverter for long periods of time and also run the furnace, which a large draw on the batteries. How old are the batteries?

Hi

.... lithium batteries (plural) ... in the original post. That would suggest at least 200AH usable capacity vs a 600W inverter.

Bob

[afk314]

Yes, as Uncle Bob pointed out, I had 300Ah of Lithium Batteries. Just added 100Ah more today with the great Battle Born blemish sale going on for the next 8 hours or so. $150 off each battery - not a common deal!

And thanks for the offer wulfraat, but I'm holding on until I put in a MultiPlus since I want a hybrid unit. I contacted Victron a few months ago and they told me Q2/Q3 for the new model which will feature Bluetooth support. I want to simplify the tech involved in the AS.

Thanks,
Adam

[wulfraat]

You will love the multiplus, that is what I installed in my unit - works great.